1. Field of the Invention
The invention refers to a membrane electrolytic procedure for in situ generation of a fuel gas from water, under normal temperature and pressure conditions, without requiring transportation or storage, as well as the characteristics of this gas which make it useful and devoid of risks in exploitation, for both domestic and industrial applications.
2. Discussion of Background Information
The world economic crises, corroborated with the current climatic changes, have a common denominator, namely the lack of valid technological solutions for regenerative energy.
In the past century, the major world powers have had fierce battles with the states rich in oil resources, thus managing to lead to intense poverty and human victims. These past “imperialist” battles prove today to be useless, making it possible for many financial and human efforts to be oriented towards finding alternative solutions for regenerative energy.
Unfortunately, this situation is still valid in the present. Out of inertia, many of today's governments in the well developed countries still are and still act under the influence of the events and practices of the past century, aiming at overexploiting the existing fossil fuel resources and investing very little in research so as to find new viable solutions for the energy resources needed for the future generations.
Being used in highly specific purposes in the chemical, electrical and spatial industries, for over three decades, hydrogen has attracted the interest of the public authorities and of the research institutions, as well as that of the businesspeople, as being a clean fuel for transportation or as source for generating electric energy. Vast multidisciplinary research and development activities have been initiated and developed with priority all around the globe, aiming at elaborating efficient technologies for the production, separation, purification, storage, transportation and utilization of hydrogen under conditions of security and safety.
In the following, we will present several patented inventions that currently exist around the world and by which hydrogen is produced:                European Patent 1601613_A2 (International Publication No. WO 2004/071946) is entitled System for the production of hydrogen gas. This system, according to its patent, uses a catalyst (e.g., nickel, cobalt) for the chemical reaction between Sodium borohydride (NaBH4) and water, cu generating hydrogen and Sodium metaborate: NaBH4+2H2O→4H2+NaBO2. The hydrogen thus produced is separated by help of a membrane (e.g., of fluoropolymers). There are many patented inventions based on this principle, with variations on reactive materials, structural materials and constructive solutions.        Great Britain Patent 2418424 (published on the 29 Mar. 2006) is entitled Hydrogen Production using the Castner Reaction. The hydrogen destined to be used as fuel is produced by the Castner reaction whereby the sodium hydroxide reacts with carbon to produce hydrogen and sodium as main products and sodium carbonate as a secondary product. Liquid sodium reacts with a counter current of steam, producing hydrogen again, as well as sodium hydroxide as a secondary product. Sodium peroxide then further reacts with water and regenerates sodium hydroxide. The thus generated hydrogen can be burnt by combination with oxygen, producing high pressure steam, usable for the production of electric energy. As carbon, several items can be used, such as coal, coke or even biological material. For a 500 MW power plant 200 tons of coal per hour are necessary, the global theoretical efficiency being 32%. The Castner reaction is produced at approximately 1000° C. Primary hydrogen is used for the production of electric energy and secondary hydrogen is used for the heating of the reaction environment.        U.S. Pat. No. 6,303,009 B1 is entitled Hydrogen generator with the control of the reversed reaction. The production of hydrogen can be made through water electrolysis induced in the course of a protons shifting membrane. Hydrogen is produced on one side of the membrane and oxygen on the other. The gas production is calibrated through the electric current which traverses the membrane, provided by a highly efficient, programmable continuous current source. The membrane is not subjected to any pressure difference and does not require support by a metallic net, being highly more durable compared to other solutions of this kind produced before. Several electrolysis cells can be connected in series. The produced hydrogen is very pure, only being contaminated by water vapors. The electrolysis takes place at a low temperature (preferable under 10° C.), heat shifters being used for taking over the heat produced in the course of the process (thus diminishing the water vapor contamination).        U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,175 B1 is entitled Device for generating oxygen and hydrogen for internal combustion engines. Hydrogen and oxygen are generated to be used for the internal combustion engine of a vehicle, using the electrical system of the vehicle to provide power to the electrolysis process. This process is only active when the engine is working and stops when the engine is switched off. The hydrogen and the oxygen are collected separately and are sent through separate pipes to the engine's distribution system. The used water is stored in a reservoir in which the water level is maintained constant. Distilled water is used, to which sodium hydroxide or a similar electrolyte is added. For electrodes, titanium is preferred, but stainless steel or other metals can be equally used.        European Patent 0405919 A1 (published on the 2 Jan. 1991) is entitled Water-propelled Internal Combustion Engine. Hydrogen gas, used as fuel for the internal combustion engine, is obtained through water electrolysis at the intake of the vehicle, and is then injected into the engine's combustion chambers. To produce electrolysis, the electric current generated by the engine is used. Hydrogen is first mixed with saturated dry steam, which leads to a combustion produced at lower temperatures and in an easier to control manner. The invention can be applied in stationary installations for the production of electric energy. To produce electrolysis, “ionized water” is used, that is water which contains ions (for example, water obtained from dissolving salts—i.e., distilled water in which NaCl is dissolved at a concentration of 30 g/l), in order to increase its electrical conductibility.        
Another procedure well known is the electrochemical gasification of coal is a complex, costly procedure, which generated byproducts such as: ash, tar and sulfuric compounds.
In all cases known up to the present, the production of hydrogen from water is followed by a series of costly operations, such as the liquefaction and storage which lead to the inefficiency of its use in domestic and industrial applications. At the same time, the H—O mixture, resulting from water electrolysis, is a gas with reduced applicability because of its risk of exploding, which it is known to do.